Silver
by Malice Shaw
Summary: Unconventional pairing anyone? In response to a challenge issued by Rhyein, 2 people discover that they may have more in common, than being in Garden. R/R?


**Silver**  
  
  


A billowing breeze threw itself through the folds of his clothes. It was uncommon, during the dead of summer's heat for the Heavens above to give a remote satisfactory wind chill, causing him to pull the folds of his coat tighter around his body, and yank his hat down over his head. Dust stang his eyes as he walked to serene fields, the waves of grain and wild flowers billowing around him like the smooth ocean tides of yesterday, not letting his presence interrupt their movement. In his minds' eye, he contemplated what he was, and who he was going to be, yet overall, he knew that he was many things, far too many for just one man. He was a loner, a demon to some, a lover to most, and a friend to the rest, and yet above all, he was the one, the only, in the truest sense of the word, a 

**_(_**killer**)**

damned fine marksman. 

It had been weeks since they had seperated. The days felt as if they had turned to years, with her chittering in his ear, her humming bird like body that once chittered around him lovingly had become an annoying fly, badly in the need of swatting. Her high pitched voice, once music to his ears had droned on and on until it became grating. And at one time, even her sudden impulse to pull him close, and then jump into his arms, wrap her arms around his neck while pressing a kiss against his willing lips had been something he looked forward to. Now, it seemed mechanical, her way of pushing deep down her anger and sorrow, and pity. Her lips felt like rubber, and her soul? It seemed as if it didn't belong to him anymore. 

But it still hurt when he had come over, and heard her cries of extacy eminating from the closed door. He remained there for a while, just listening, as if maybe possibly she was watching one of her movies, again, where the world ended up in perfect harmony, and Rhett held Scarlet in his arms, professiong his love, or telling her to blatantly fuck off. Which ever it was, it still hurt to har her beg another for more, and hear another respond in only a fashion he thought he could. Bracing himself, he pushed the door open, and silently turned on the lights, ignoring her gasps and her lover's cries of fear, their sputtering explanations as he drifted to the closet, pulled out most of his clothing, and left them to their own accord. 

As he walked the ebbing fields, he wondered, how it happened. When did things change so drastically, that the once young, passionate love they shared had fizzled. He came to the conclusion as he passed a whistling reed that it happened during their last mission. He had to snipe out a child. A little girl, barely six years old, a young innocent that held no real terror except for the Sorceress blood cursing through her veins. She had bright green eyes, like glistening emeralds, and a perfectly pert mouth, and prances around in her billowy yellow dress with auburn curls dangling about her face. He didn't want to do it, she reminded him so much of her, but he had to. At the last moment she lunged for the barrel of his gun, tears streaming from her eyes, screaming about their future, their children, and how if he could kill a child this fast with just a click of a trigger, what would he do to their own? 

The gun went off, creating a loud sound that echoed 

**_(_**in their ears stabbing it's way through**)**

across the walls, splintering across the way, tearing apart 

**_(_**whatever love was left**)**

the air it touched. Riding through, as if in slow motion, the bullet 

**_(_**destroyed an innocent life**)**

seared into the little girls' head, hitting her right temple so suddenly, she seemed to be in a trance. For the briefest of moments, she looked up at him, emerald meeting azure, and lifted a chubby finger to the hole in her head he gave her. He could still recall when her eyes rolled back into her head as her mother leaned over her fallen form, screaming, chanting, cursing the Gods and him. Selphie took that moment to gasp out his name and spell out her hatred towards him, hitting him raw with her bare fists. they didn't hurt at first, but they did later, when he went to shower and purple, blue, and green tinged spots freckled his chest. 

He figured, it was then, that they began to do more than drift apart, but just plain stop seeing eye to eye. 

She believed in life. 

It was his job to take them. 

Irvine tugged his coat around his body again. It was getting even more windy now, and the dust was refusing to settle. He walked on, against the wind, pushing his resistance, until he came upon a glorious site that left him gasping for air 

**_(_**because it took his breath away**)**

for it seemed the winds pulled it from his lungs. 

She was dancing in the air, vividly, beautifully, as if in a trance. Her full, pouty lips braced themselves over her teeth in a smile, her eye closed against the bristling winds. She was dressed in a light violet gown, sleeveless, with the skirt silky against her bare legs, whispering forbidden promises, while her white, milky skin seemed to glow. The silver mane of fire she called hair shone brightly, catching a ray of light for every strand that graced her crown, and she moved her lithe arms in the midst of music only her ears could hear. She wasn't alone in this dance. Pandemona slid around her, just a fragrant animal, a ghost of it's solid self, and let the winds allow her to fly, it's purple being letting her soar, never allowing her to fall, carressing her form in a comforting motherly grace. 

He watched her for a few moments, gazing at her movements, mesmerized by the intricate dance she performed. A part of him died then, died, wanting the freedom that she so wonderfully possessed, and yet, a part of him was reborn. She was beautiful, he realized, even with the one patch covering a missing eye lost so long ago it didn't even matter how. She gleamed, and shone, she was what he figured a Goddess would look like if she had a human form. 

"Fujin?!" He called out, holding his coat closer to his body as he stepped closer. The winds had reached almost chill factor to this point, but he didn't care. "What're you doing girl?" 

She turned her silver mane towards him, and smiled, so bright and charming he nearly melted. Motioning him closer, she waved her arms and the winds pulled him in, pulling him close, and thrust his hard body against her soft shell. 

"Whoa girl!" He shouted, his voice high above the whiring winds. The force of the turbulance ripped his coat from his body, letting it soar out and away from the tunnel of wind Pandemona was creating. "What're you doing?!" 

Fujin laughed then, a smile on her perfect lips. "Dance?" She asked, not waiting for an answer. She grabbed his hand and pulling him towards her, mentally calling Pandemona to shift her winds. Holding him tightly, they flew, with her laughing and him gripping her for dear life, stiffling the screams that rose in his throat. She look on his face was priceless, a mix of fear and excitement, as if he were a little boy on his first trip to the carnival, with lights soaring too high to figure out if they were the gleaming bulbs or the stars. Irvine gave a small chuckle and wrapped his arms over his shoulders, blowing through his terse lips. 

"Amazing, Fujin." He stated, failing to hide the fear in his voice. "What're you doin' up here anyway? You know this is dangerous." 

"Done it before." Fujin stated simply. Carefully she let him go, laughing at his shrieks and shouts of his falling to his death, and the dumbfounded relief when he realized he wouldn't. "And Seifer calls Zell the Chicken-Wuss." 

Irvine glared at her, and folded his arms. "That ain't right." 

"Truth hurts." Fujin waved her arms above here, ceasing Pandemona's twisting, and lowering them both to the ground. The winds around them were still somewhat fierce, but standable. Gazing at him softly, she took a small note at his discomfort and smiled. 

"What're you doin' here, Fujin?" Irvine asked again. Fujin merely shrugged, lowering her eyes. 

"I wanted to." She said. "I just wanted to." 

"Ya know, it's nice to not hear you shouting for once." 

She gave him a cold glare. "_NEGATIVE!_" 

Irvine shook his head and stepped towards her, a complacent smile on his face. "You really shouldn't do that. Shouting all the time. You've got such a pretty voice when you're not usin' it to tear our eardrums out." She gave him a cold look, her crimson eye gleaming. "Heck, you've got pretty hair, pretty face, pretty skin, aw, you're just pretty everything from the looks of it." 

Despite her earlier notions, Fujin blushed. The tinge of red on her cheeks only made Irvine smile more, and feel a little self concious. Seeing her seem sheepish and modest was like watching a Goddess cry; Something you just plain could not do. He stepped towards her, arms still crossed, and bent down to look at her in the face, suddenly feeling a bit more bold. "So what're you doin' out here anyways, pretty lady?" 

"I like to be alone sometimes." She said, her voice returning to her normal tone. Never once had the thought crossed his mind until that moment that it sounded like honey, melted over a pot of fire. Both sweet and spicy at the same time. "Seifer.." 

"I saw him." Irvine spoke softly. "Him and Quistis, right?" 

"_AFFIRMATIVE_" 

"Don't start that again." 

"Sorry." 

"So, y'see, I don't get it." Carefully, Irvine began to circle her, coming back towards her front again. "You been in love with him long?" 

She held her head down, low, her chin to her chest. "Not too long. Maybe. Felt something that wasn't there. Something good. Something I'm not." 

Irvine sighed. "You're something good. You gotta know that." 

"Ugly girls like me-" 

"Now didn't you hear a word I just said?" Fujin looked up at him, a hint of annoyance in her eyes at being interrupted. He ignored her seething look and continued on. "You're beautiful, Fujin. You're like silver, brimming to the edge with light. You gotta see what I do sometime. The sight's worth every bullet in any gun. At least to me." 

Fujin laughed then. "Only you would make such a comparison." 

"It's me!" Irvine held out his arms. "Take it or leave it." 

She smiled then, a beautiful curve on her lips. Taking one of his out stretched hands in her own, she gave him a mournful look, sympathy creeping in her eyes. "Selphie." 

He shook his head again, feeling the emerging pain in his heart. "That was over before it even began." He whispered. "I was just too blind to see it. Or maybe I did, and I kept it under rose tinted lenses for so long, it just made no sense. But either way, it still hurt." 

"Do you ever...?" She began, then stopped. Once he brought his cerulean colored eyes to her face, she began again, selecting her words more carefully. "Ever believe you can feel again?" 

"The heart, it's got some amazing healing abilities." Irvine took both her hands in his, and looked down at the slender palms and lithe fingers. They were more well manicured, and better well taken care of than Selphie's had ever been; Feminine and charming at the same time, and impish, that they just never could seem to be able to hurt like Fujin had done in the past. "It just.. Heals. Someway, some how, the scars fade, and then, who knows? We don't know how the winds blow." 

"We don't control how the winds go." She whispered. Looking up at him, a lock of silver drifted over her bad eye, as a polite curve caressed her lips. "Where do you think they blow now?" 

"Dunno." Irvine's other hand snaked across her waist and pulled her into a friendly hug. "Maybe our way someday, huh?" 

"It could happen." She whispered. The winds around them grew faint, while the electric storm between them grew harsh. Never once had he thought to look at her with out disdain, and yet now, the word and it's meaning had yet to filter through his thoughts. She seemed so priceless, like a china doll, with the light of the midday to evening sun softening the features that once seemed too harsh to consider lovely. Her hair flipped about her face, giving her an ethereal look, each strand illuminated into a glowing spark. All of it, all of her, was beautiful. 

He didn't know when he did it, and he never could figure it out, just when his palms crept up to her face and held such beauty in his hands. Her one good eye closed for a split second, then opened again, catching his twin sapphire orbs in it's depths. The faint plum tinge of her full lips contrasted with her pale skin, completely, combined with her dark crimson eyes created a picture he never once thought to see. Always, he had looked for gold, gold in everything. Thje gold tinge around Selphie's green eyes, the yellow in her dress, the class ring he gave her. But now, it all seemed tarnished, and dull. Pale in comparison to Silver. 

"Silver.." He whispered. He did not let her respond verbally, as he gently bent his lips to cover hers. The soft moan in her throat was response enough. 

The fields still ebbed with the winds, and the darkness grew around them. The reeds still whistled s nature threw it's course, and yet they still remained. 

The heart has an uncanny healing factor. It may hurt, it may sting, and love, any type of love will always be the one splinter of glass, driving the pain home. But love, and only love, can heal the wound, seal it up, and banish the scar. Yet no matter, how deep and how wide it can be, it will always, always become something beautiful, for even the burnt weeping willow always, always weeps. 

**_(_**could you let down your hair and be transparent for a while**)**  
**_(_** just a little while**)**  
**_(_**to see if you're human afterall**)**   
  
  


* * *

AUTHOR NOTES: Thanks to IceWolf19 for inspiring me with his story, Sleepless Cities, one of the most captivating fics to date (Go read it! NOW!) and thanks to Rhyein for making such a funky challenge :p 


End file.
